Physical fitness continues to be extremely important in our society. At the same time, however, many persons find it increasingly difficult to go to a gym, and consequently, home exercise equipment is often desirable. In addition, persons who travel may find it difficult to exercise when away from home. Thus, portability and compactability are increasingly desired qualities in exercise equipment.
Among fitness activities, abdominal exercises are popular. Traditionally, abdominal exercises are achieved through sit-ups, which involve a person laying on a surface and repeatedly raising the upper torso to an upright sitting position. However, traditional style sit-ups have several shortcomings. For instance, a high number of repetitions of exercises involving light weight are considered to have unique and beneficial results over a low number of repetitions of exercises involving heavy weight. However, traditional sit-ups do not permit variability in the weight, so the number of repetitions of the exercise is limited by a person's abdominal strength. As a result, some people simply lack the strength needed to perform a desired number of repetitions. Additionally, shallow sit-ups, also known as partial sit-ups, can provide superior abdominal exercise while reducing stresses through the spine. However, the repetition problem in traditional sit-ups is amplified with shallow sit-ups since the shallow portion of a sit-up is the most difficult part of the exercise (i.e. requires the most strength).